Combination hand towel and pot holder assembly

ABSTRACT

A combination hand towel and pot holder assembly for use by an amateur cook or professional chef, the assembly having an elongate, cloth web formed of an absorbent material, the ends of the elongate web formed with pockets of the same absorbent material, the pockets formed on the same side of the web, the opposing side of the web, proximate the formed pockets would be overlaid with a heat resistant material layer, such as neoprene. The elongate web of the assembly would be of sufficient length to allow the assembly to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cook or professional chef, the absorbent web material serving as a hand towel, and the terminus pockets in combination with the heat resistant material, such as neoprene, or a silicon compound, serve as potholders for the movement or transport of hot pots, pans or dishes.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation-in-part of Applicant's applicationSer. No. 13/999,852, filed Mar. 28, 2014, which application claimed thebenefit of provisional application Ser. No. 61/956,419, filed Jun. 10,2013.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates a cooking aid for cooks and chefs, and inparticular, to a combination hand towel which incorporates a pair of potholders, the combination of which is designed to be worn over theshoulder of the cook or chef so that it is easily accessible and notmisplaced, the combination hand towel and pot holders also beingfoldable for use as a trivet for small or large casserole dishes.

2. Description of the Prior Art

When preparing a meal, amateur cooks and even professional chefs mustperform many different tasks, sometimes simultaneously, or sometimes ina specified sequence in order to bring the required utensils in the formof pots and pans to the right location and temperature, whilesimultaneously preparing the food stuffs in accordance with recipes byusing a plurality of different hand held instruments to prepare the foodstuffs. The amateur cook or professional chef often finds it necessaryto wipe his hands on a hand towel while performing these myriad tasksand the amateur cook or professional chef also requires the use of hotpads in order to move frying pans, pots, pans, and casserole dishes fromplace to place, be it on top of the stove or from within the oven to theserving table or to the counter top. These kitchen aids in the form ofthe hand towel and the pot holders are available to the amateur cook andthe professional chef, but they are normally located in the counter topwhere all of the food preparation is taking place, and where all of theutensils and the pots and pans are stationed prior to their actual use.Therefore, the hand towel and pot holders required by the amateur cookor professional chef are not always easily accessible or identifiedbecause of the many other items occupying the same counter orpreparation space.

Applicant has solved this problem by combining a hand towel with a pairof pot holders, and forming such combination from a fabric which allowsthe combination to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cook orprofessional chef such that there is a frictional adherence to theshoulder maintaining the combination hand towel and pot holders inshape, and providing immediate and easy access to the items by theamateur cook or professional chef when required. When not in use by thecook or chef, the combination hand towel and pot holders can be foldedto serve as a trivet for a small pot or even a large casserole dish.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide for a combination handtowel with incorporated pot holders, which can be easily positioned onthe shoulder of an amateur cook or professional chef, providing ease ofaccessibility to the combination either as a hand towel or as a potholder for transferring hot pans, dishes or the like.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel hand towel and pot holder combination which allows the user to usethe item as a hand towel for cleaning one's hands, or as a single potholder for engaging a hot pan or dish; or as a double pot holder forlifting large casserole dishes and the like.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide for anovel combination hand towel with pot holders which when not in use bythe amateur cook or professional chef, may be folded in such a fashionso as to serve as a trivet for either single dishes or large casseroledishes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A combination hand towel and pot holder assembly for use by an amateurcook or professional chef, the assembly having an elongate, cloth webformed of an absorbent material, the ends of the elongate web formedwith pockets of the same absorbent material, the pockets formed on thesame side of the web, the opposing side of the web, proximate the formedpockets would be overlaid with a heat resistant material layer, such asneoprene. The elongate web of the assembly would be of sufficient lengthto allow the assembly to be worn over the shoulder of the amateur cookor professional chef, the absorbent web material serving as a handtowel, and the terminus pockets in combination with the heat resistantmaterial, such as neoprene, serve as potholders for the movement ortransport of hot pots, pans or dishes. The assembly when not in use bythe chef can be folded such that the heat resistant materials in theform of neoprene can serve as a trivet for hot plates, casseroles, orpots or pans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparent,particularly when taken in light of the following illustrations wherein:

FIG. 1 is a top view of the towel and pot holder assembly of the presentinvention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the towel and pot holder assembly of thepresent invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along Plane 3-3 of FIG. 1 of the toweland pot holder combination of the present invention; and

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are illustrative of the manner in which the towel andpot holder assembly is worn and utilized by the cook or chef.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 is a top view of the combination towel and pot holder assembly 10of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a bottom view; and FIG. 3 is across-sectional view along Plane 3-3 of FIG. 1.

The towel and pot holder assembly combination 10 is formed of a one plycloth web 12 formed of a flexible, absorbent material, preferably terrycloth. Cloth web 12 is elongate in design having two longitudinal edges14 and 16 and two terminus edges 18 and 20. On the first side, or topside 22, cloth web 12 is formed with two pockets 24 and 26 at itsterminal edges 18 and 20. These pockets can be formed of separateabsorbent cloth materials secured to the cloth web 12, but preferablywould be extensions of the one ply cloth web 12 which had merely beenfolded back upon the cloth web 12 and secured to form the pockets.

The hand pockets 24 and 26 easily allow the cook or chef to slip a handinto the pocket between the cloth web 12 and the top of the pocket 24Aor 26A. The cook or chef can insert one hand into one of the pockets inorder to lift a single frying pan, or if necessary, the chef can slipone hand into each pocket 24 and 26 in order to grasp a larger hotserving dish or the like. All of the peripheral edges 14, 16, 18, and20, as well as pocket edges 28 and 30 of the combination towel and potholder assembly would be secured by seam binding, either being sewn inposition or adhesed into position.

FIG. 2 illustrates the second or underside 32 of the cloth web 12.Proximate terminal edges 18 and 20 there is secured to the underside 32of one ply cloth web 12, a pair of heat resistant pads 34 and 36 forcontact with the hot handles of either a pot, a pan, a sauté dish, or acasserole dish. These heat resistant pads 34 and 36 are positioned onthe second or underside 32 of one ply cloth web 12 in substantialalignment with the pockets 24 and 26 formed on the top or first side 22of one ply cloth web 12. The heat resistant pads 34 and 36 can be of anysuitable heat resistant material, but should have a flexible quality soas to allow the cook or chef to grip firmly whatever type of pot, pan,or dish he may be lifting or transferring. Neoprene would be one exampleof a suitable material, as would fiber reinforced polymer, heatresistant cloth or silicon compound. The heat resistant pads 34 and 36would be secured to the second side or underside of the cloth web, byany suitable means such as being sewn, seam bound, or adhesed.

FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view of FIG. 1 along Plane 3-3 so as to giveto the reader an understanding of the manner in which the hands of theuser can be slipped into either one of the pockets or both of thepockets simultaneously depending upon the size of the pot, pan, dish orcasserole being transferred. The hands would be inserted such that thepalm of the hand faces the cloth web 12 so that when grasping the hotpan or hot handle, the hand is protected from the heat by thecombination of one ply cloth web 12 and heat resistance paid 34 and 36which would be in actual contact with the hot handle (see FIGS. 5 and6).

The length of the one ply cloth web is of importance. The absorbentmaterial, such as terry cloth, from which it is constructed has acertain frictional quality to it which positions it on the usersshoulder and allows it to hang loosely from the shoulder of the cook orchef with one of the pockets and one of the hot pads positionedproximate the rear torso of cook or chef, while the other pocket and hotpad hangs proximate the front torso of the cook or chef. In thisconfiguration (See FIG. 4), the cook or chef has access to the absorbentterry cloth towel portion in order to readily and easily access same forwiping his or her hands. The cook or chef also has easy access to one ofthe pockets and one of the hot pads hanging on the front torso formanipulating and/or transferring a single transferring a single sautédish or pot or pan having a single handle and easily manipulated withone hand. If both hands are required to transfer the pot or casseroledish, the cook or chef merely removes the combination towel and hot padfrom his shoulder and engages both pockets with one hand each totransfer such a pot or dish.

In this configuration, not only is an absorbent towel readily accessibleto the cook or chef, but also one or more hot pads are readilyaccessible to the cook or chef such that the cook or chef is notdistracted from the cooking tasks which he is performing.

Additionally, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the combination towel and hotpad assembly when worn over the shoulder with the pocket 28 facingoutwardly, provides a receptacle in the form of pocket 24 in which thecook or chef can place a recipe or small cooking utensils, such as athermometer, spoon or the like, while preparing the meal.

Additionally, the combination towel and hot pad assembly may include afriction patch 42 positioned at a midpoint on the second side of the oneply cloth web 12, the friction patch 42 aiding in maintaining thecombination towel and hot pad assembly to the shoulder of a user whenworn over the shoulder by the user when not engaging any hot pots orpans.

FIG. 5 illustrates the combination towel and hot pad assembly beingutilized by the cook or chef in order to transfer hot pots or pans fromone location to the other within the kitchen by slidably inserting hishands into the pockets formed at the ends of the towel and hot padassembly allowing the hot pad portion of the assembly to contact the hotpan or plate.

Another design characteristic unique to the combination towel and hotpad assembly allows for its utility transformation into a trivet if notrequired as a towel and hot pad transfer assembly. FIG. 6 would beillustrative of the hand towel and hot pad assembly in which variousfolds could be made to arrive at a folded cloth assembly in which thehot pads 34 and 36 face upwardly on a counter or table top such thatthey could support a hot pot or hot casserole.

While the present invention has been described with respect to theexemplary embodiments thereof, it will be recognized by those ofordinary skill in the art that many modifications or changes can beachieved without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Therefore it is manifestly intended that the invention be limited onlyby the scope of the claims and the equivalence thereof.

I claim:
 1. A chef's accessory for use in a kitchen, the accessory beinga combination hand towel and pot holder comprising: an elongate fibrous,one ply, absorbent cloth web defined by two longitudinal edges andopposing terminal edges defining a first side and a second side of saidaccessory; a pair of pockets formed on said first side of saidaccessory, said pockets formed at said opposing terminal edges of saidfibrous one ply cloth web, said pockets secured about said terminaledges and said portion of said longitudinal edges to form said pocketcapable of receiving a hand of the user; a pair of heat resistant padssecured to said second side of said fibrous one ply cloth web, proximatesaid terminal edges and in opposing alignment with said pockets formedon said first side of said fibrous one ply cloth web, said elongatefibrous one ply web of a length sufficient to permit said accessory tobe worn over a shoulder of a user and of sufficient length to permitgripping contact and transport of a hot cooking container by said heatresistance pads.
 2. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1wherein said elongate, fibrous, one ply cloth web is formed of absorbentterry cloth in a length to be worn over the shoulder of said user forease of access during the preparation of food, and as worn over theshoulder by said user presents a pocket in the front of the user for thetemporary storage of cooking accessories.
 3. The chef's accessory inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said fibrous, one ply, absorbent clothweb is formed with a friction patch at a midpoint on said second side ofsaid fibrous, one ply, absorbent cloth web removably securing saidaccessory to a user's shoulder.
 4. The chef's accessory in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said heat resistant pads formed on said second sideof said fibrous one ply cloth web are formed from a heat resistant,flexible material, which is heat resistant and provides said grippingsurface.
 5. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 4 wherein saidheat resistant pads formed on said second side of said fibrous one plycloth web are formed from a heat resistant, flexible material, which isheat resistant and acts as a gripping surface.
 6. The chef's accessoryin accordance with claim 4 wherein said heat resistant pads formed onsaid second side of said fibrous one ply cloth web are formed from aheat resistant, flexible reinforced polymer, which is heat resistant andacts as a gripping surface.
 7. The chef's accessory in accordance withclaim 1 wherein said accessory may be utilized with one hand pocket forpositioning skillets having a single handle.
 8. The chef's accessory inaccordance with claim 1 wherein said accessory pockets may be usedsimultaneously for both hands for gripping and transporting larger potsor casseroles.
 9. The chef's accessory in accordance with claim 1wherein said accessory can be folded in a manner such that said hot padsare positioned upwardly on a surface and act as a trivet for the supportof a hot casserole or pan and protection to the underlying surface.